Buffer Bonus Program

In a 3-year initiative, a group of conservation and farmland preservation organizations are helping Amish and Mennonite farmers improve local streams and water quality with forest buffers and agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs). Partial funding is available for about 200 BMPs on roughly 50 farms.

Priority BMPs include forested buffers, conservation plans, barnyard and pasture runoff controls, conservation tillage, and cover crops. The project will provide financial and technical assistance to farmers in Lancaster and Chester County’s Chesapeake Bay watersheds, targeting smaller, headwater streams. Funding for the project is provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.